The 2025 US stamps offer up a lot of familiar faces, among them Betty White. We’ll always miss her. 

I’m a bit late in creating the US page. It’s normally up by the middle of January. This year, I took more time to decide a few issues. This time around, I’ve spent more energy outlining the designers and artists in a way that shows how complex the design process can be. It’s not a matter of one person sitting down and tossing a few images together.  Sometimes there are 3 or more people are involved.  

I am however, still shaking my fist in a southerly direction and cursing the USPS for its utter lack of timelines. Their preliminary release lacks any indicator as to month, let alone day, making it frustrating to maintain. This means many stamps are in wildly wrong positions which in turn causes a major shuffling of the order almost every month. The initial program is released in 2 parts, and by the second release we get a handful of dates. After that, it’s a big dog pile of beautiful stamps. I have to confess, occasionally frustration gets the better of me and I roll on past the US page and go have an espresso instead of working on it.  That being said, many of my American readers are … struggling with extraordinary times. I’m gong to take a little more care with this page, so at least you have a small refuge from reality and we can enjoy a bit of tranquility among the stamps.

Drop me a note if you feel the urge. If you want a reply don’t forget to include your email address. I often get questions, but no way to contact the writer. 

Hope you enjoy the little bonuses I sourced for you. I’ve tried to flesh out some of the designers and topics a bit more and have a few treasures hidden among the stamps. Instead of writing something for each stamp at publication time, I decided to wait. That’ll give us something light and fun to explore together throughout the year. 

Cheers and stay strong my American readers
Catpaw 

Oh and one last note. Before I get into spelling squabbles, again, I’m Canadian so colour is spelt with a U up here. 

January

Lunar New Year: Year of the Snake

1 stamp, FDC with a digital colour cancel and a traditional black ink cancel, sheets of 20, pinbacks, pre-stamped red envelope
offset, foil stamping, microprint, flexographic

If you are interested in printing techniques, check this page on flexographic printing methods What Is Flexographic Printing? – Complete Overview (2020) | Printmatics

USPS often offers special additions to some releases. With the Lunar New Year, collectors can also purchase pinbacks (these are so cool!), matte mounted stamps, and special release ceremony memento packs. Each Lunar New Year, they also offer a special stamped red envelope. Red is generally associated with good luck. Unfortunately the scans for some of the items tend to be a bit teeny so they aren’t the best. 

Artist Camille Chew returns for her 6th stamp in the current Lunar New Year cycle. The stamps in her series features a carefully created 3D paper mask to represent each animal. From the USPS News release:

Camille Chew constructed a three-dimensional snake mask out of hand-printed paper, then cut, scored and folded it into shape. After the front was embellished with acrylic paint and additional paper elements, the back was covered with a layer of papier-mâché. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp from a photograph of the mask by Sally Andersen-Bruce.

Artist: Camile Chew
Chew describes herself as “an illustrator whose work
marvels at the magic present in the everyday.
Exploring and comparing the transformative
processes of art-making, cooking, and witchcraft.
You can see more of her art on her website About/Contact – Camille Chew
Designer: Antonio Alcalá
Photographer: Sally Andersen-Bruce
Andersen-Bruce’s photographes have graced at least 12 previous stamps. Her Adopt a Shelter Pet, April 30, 2010 was voted Most Popular stamp of 2010

Release date: January 14, 2025

Love (2025)

1 stamp, FDC, digital colour cancel, sheets of 16, pinbacks, (notecards available)
offset, microprint

There appears to be only a colour cancel available for this stamp. 

Untitled (1985) drawing.

Keith Haring Foundation has an excellent bio, In His Own Words | Keith Haring. He was an extraordinary person who never lost touch with fans and had an immense respect for them.

“The things that have always given me the strength and confidence not to worry about [negative criticism] are, first of all, support from other artists, artists whom I look up to and respect much more than I respect these critics or curators, and second, things that come from real people, people who don’t have any art background, who aren’t part of the elitist establishment or of the intellectual community but who respond with complete honesty from deep down inside their hearts or their souls.”[
Transitions | Keith Haring

Artist: Keith Haring (1958–1990)
Haring’s artwork previously appeared on a French stamp in 2014 for the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris, France.  The artwork, titled Tower, was created for the Hospital in 1987. 
“Haring painted this tower, originally a fire escape from a now-destroyed building, during a visit to Paris. He offered to paint the tower free of charge to entertain the sick children of the Necker hospital. The mural was made by Keith Haring freehand without prior sketches, in three days, in the rain and cold.” Keith Haring (1958-1990) Necker Hospital Paris, French stamps issued in 2014

Credits: AP Photo – HP Necker Hospital, © Keith Haring Foundation

Designer: Antonio Alcalá
Antonio maintains a blog on his website 2024 September – Studio A. He sometimes highlights the stamps he has designed. Not a lot of insight into his design process, but a fun interlude. 

Release date: January 17, 2025

James Hubble Telescope – Spiral Galaxy and Star Cluster

2 stamps, 2 FDCs with a digital colour cancel and a traditional black ink cancel for each stamp, 2 blocks of 4
offset, microprint

A lot of agencies had a hand in this stamp. Images were supplied by: 

Spiral Galaxy 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Janice Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute), Thomas Williams (Oxford) and the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS Team. 

Star Cluster
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Kevin Luhman (Penn State University) and Catarina Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency)

The USPS began their 2024 program with a pair of Hubble photos, Pillars of Creation and Cosmic Cliffs. The same team that created this year’s set, also designed 2024’s. 

The first time Hubble images used were the Edwin Hubble sheet sheet released in 2000.

Designer: Greg Breeding

Release date: January 21, 2025

1794 Compass Rose

1 stamp, FDC with a digital colour cancel and a traditional black ink cancel, sheetlets of 10
offset, microprint

This stamp uses an illustration by a 10 year old schoolgirl Lucia Wadsworth. The compass was part of her geography lesson in 1794. Her notebook, along with those belonging to her classmates have been carefully preserved. Lucia was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s aunt. .

Lucia Wadsworth’s Geography Notebook, completed in 1794, is the earliest example of schoolgirl mapping included in this exhibition. Wadsworth was only ten years old when she created her geography notebook, and throughout its pages, one can see descriptions and word maps, as well as colorful maps such as this “Chart of the Western Continent.” Like the other school children working through their geography lessons in these notebooks, Wadsworth practiced her penmanship and her spelling. Small spelling corrections, like adding an h to “Northern,” remind us that these maps were learning experiences and works in progress.
Osher Map Library

The Osher Map Library has a full scan of her notebook (as well as from other’s in her class), freely available for viewing online. 

The original compass, from a scan of Lucia Wadsworth Geography Notebook, 1794. With great thanks to the Collections of the Maine Historical Society for making these images available.
https://oshermaps.org/map/4000390.0019

Another page from her notebook. From Lucia Wadsworth Geography Notebook, 1794 Courtesy Collections of the Maine Historical Society https://oshermaps.org/map/4000390.0019

Lucia Wadsworth, shortly before her death. This is the only portrait I could find of her (at least that I could confirm was Lucia). With special thanks to the Maine Memory Network. https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/100201/image/100201

Artist: Lucia Wadsworth
Designer: Greg Breeding
Greg is an Art Director with the USPS. You can see his portfolio of stamps here: Greg Breeding
He also part of the Journey Group. He has contributed a number of interesting articles on design on their website Essays — Journey Group, Including Designing the Mayflower Postage Stamp — Journey Group where he discusses how his design process starts. Art Direction, Design and the Magic Touch — Journey Group is another good essay on “elevating” stamp design. This isn’t an essay by Breeding, but one of his co-workers Zack Bryant,  Moral Design — Journey Group. A thought provoking examination of modern design.

Release date: January 24, 2024

Black Heritage: Allen Toussaint (1938–2015)

1 stamp, FDC with a digital colour cancel and a traditional black ink cancel, sheets of  20, fieldnotes (matted mounted stamp also available) 
offset, flexographic, microprint

Allen Toussaint (1938–2015), a true son of New Orleans, was the heartbeat of the city’s iconic rhythm and blues sound, bringing its infectious groove to audiences around the globe. The 48th stamp in the Black Heritage series celebrates this musical powerhouse — a virtuoso pianist, singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer whose genius gave rise to countless hits across a wide range of genres. 
Latest News – The Official Site of Allen Toussaint

Toussaint’s website has a delightful addition describing designer Ethel Kessler’s joy in going through the archived photos for this stamp. It’s well worth a minute to read. 

Judging by the number of photos of Toussaint in various collections, it was clear to Kessler that he was a popular subject. “He was very handsome,” she says, “always dressed to impress in a smashing outfit when performing.”

Given Toussaint’s extensive career, choosing the perfect image for the stamp could have been daunting. However, his deep connection to the piano made the decision clear: The stamp would capture him at the instrument that defined so much of his musical genius.

 “Once I started reviewing images of him for the stamp, I quickly zeroed in on my top picks,” Kessler recalls. “From there, it’s all about the lighting. I considered everything we could find — shots of him performing outdoors at a festival, or in the dim ambience of a venue. It’s really about how the image will translate to stamp size,” she explains. “I looked for a moment where he seemed fully immersed in the joy of his music.”

 Kessler delivered. The final stamp captures a radiant Toussaint at the piano, elegantly dressed in black and bathed in a soft violet light against a dark background. The photograph, taken in New York City in 2007, marks a poignant chapter in Toussaint’s life. After Hurricane Katrina devastated much of New Orleans — destroying his home and recording studio — he began touring more extensively. Yet, even in the face of such loss, Toussaint’s signature grace and optimism shone through. As he put it, he believed good things would balance out the bad.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        And as he sang, New Orleans “doesn’t leave you just because you leave town. We’ve got our own special swing; it’s a New Orleans thing.”

Photo of Toussaint was taking in NYC in 2007.

Designer: Ethel Kessler
Kessler is an Art Director with the USPS and has been responsible for bringing over 250 stamps to life over her career. She wrote her aim in stamp design was to “educate and delight consumers and stamp-collectors with “America’s Story”” Kessler Design Group :: About
Photographer: Bill Tompkins

Release date: January 30, 2025

February

American Vistas

no details yet. 

Designer: Greg Breeding
Artists: DKNG Studios, using vector illustrations

Release date: February 21, 2025

The Appalachian Trail

15 stamps, sheets of 15,  Appalachian Trail Collector’s Set, set of vinyl stickers 
offset

14 stamps that follow the 2,200 miles  footpath trail through 14 states, from Maine-to-Georgia.

Designer: Antonio Alcalá
Photographers:

• Dave Allen
• Justin Birt
• Sandra Burm
• Jenna Foster
• Ed Heaton
• Angelo Marcialis
• Brent McGuirt
• Hanit Mizrachi Avondoglio
• Jessica Rodriguez
• Kevin Rohn
• Nico Schueler
• Bart Smith
• Ryan Tasto
• Drew Housten

Release date: February 28, 2025

March

Freshwater Fishing Lures

Photographer: Sarah Cramer 
Designer: Greg Breeding 

Release date: March 13, 2025

Vibrant Leaves

postcard stamps

Designer: Antonio Alcalá 

Release date: March 14, 2025

Betty White (1922–2021)

Photographer: Kwaku Alston photo taken in 2010
Illustrator: Dale Stephanos
Designer: Greg Breeding

Release date: March 27, 2025

TBA

Dahlias

Photographer: Denise Ippolito
Designer: Greg Breeding

U.S. Flag

Photographer: Doug Haight
Designer: Antonio Alcalá 

Schooner – pre-stamped postcard

photo of a 2014 replica of the 1923 schooner Columbia

Artist: Libby VanderPloeg
Designer: Antonio Alcalá 

Luna Moth

To get the fine details of the month artist Joseph Scheer used a composite technic. He took high resolution scans of of the different parts of a preserved moth and pulled them together to create a highly detailed examination of the Luna moth.

Artists: Joseph Scheer
Designer: Derry Noyes 

Baby Wild Animals

Digital art work 

Artist and designer: Tracy Walker 

Winter Landscapes 

Designer: Ethel Kessler
Photographers: not stated at this time

Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture

Artist: Cochiti Pueblo artist Mateo Romero
Designer: Antonio Alcalá

Battlefields of the American Revolution

This is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution.

Designer: Derry Noyes
Artist: Greg Harlin
Photographers: Jon Bilous, Richard Lewis, Tom Morris, Gregory J. Parker and Kevin Stewart 

Goodnight Moon

Illustrations: Clement Hurd for the original book by Margaret Wise Brown
Designer: Derry Noyes

SpongeBob SquarePants

Designer: Greg Breeding